Basically, there are 3 types of MP3 player based on capacity: -

1. Hard drive MP3 player

- highest capacity

- largest in size

- heavy

- often labeled as an "Jukebox MP3 player"

- has moving parts

- example: Apple iPod video, Sony Network Walkman NW-HD5

2. Micro hard drive MP3 player

- use smaller hard drives

- lighter than hard drive MP3 player

- lower capacity than hard drive MP3 player but higher capacity than flash memory MP3 player

- example: Apple iPod mini, Creative Labs Zen Micro

3. Flash memory MP3 player

- smallest in size

- lowest capacity

- very light

- has no moving parts

- often labeled as an "portable MP3 player"

- example: mobiBLU Dah 1500i, Apple iPod nano

What should you concern when you want to buy a MP3 player?

1. Use / Purpose

a) MP3 player good for travel

Hard drive MP3 player is good for people traveling or away from computer for an extended period of time, where they can't transfer music files from their computers. Micro hard drive MP3 player is another option for travel since it is slightly smaller and lighter than hard drive MP3 player. Flash memory MP3 player is also popular for travel if you do not mind to listen to the same music.

b) MP3 player good for sport / jogging / gym

Flash memory MP3 player is good for people exercising and jogging since it is very light. No moving parts for Flash memory MP3 player make it ideal for sport.

c) MP3 player good for home use

Hard drive MP3 player is good for listening song in living room. It is suited to be connected to external speakers.

2. Connectivity

There are two main options to transfer files from your computer: USB or FireWire. USB supported by both PCs and Macs whereas FireWire is supported only on Macs. For PC users, they need to ensure that the MP3 player support USB 2.0 which is faster than USB 1.1. Most of the MP3 players on market today are support USB 2.0.

3. Display screen

Majority of MP3 players have LCD screen. Some MP3 players have color screen instead of dull black and white screen. The main things to consider are all the information such as battery level, song name & elapsed time are easy to read.

4. Compatibility

PC or Mac compatibility. Mac users should ensure the MP3 player can support Mac since some MP3 players can only support PC.

5. Battery

MP3 players come with either rechargeable batteries (some can be charged via USB port) or disposable batteries.

6. Music format

Music files can be one of several types of formats, such as MP3, AAC (Advanced Audio Coding), WMA (Windows Media Audio) and Ogg Vorbis. Ogg Vorbis is a completely open, patent-free, professional audio encoding and streaming technology with all the benefits of Open Source.

7. Functionality

Some MP3 players have extra features such as voice recorder, FM radio, FM recorder, image viewer, video player.

8. Memory capacity

Most of the flash MP3 players come with 256MB, 512MB and 1GB. For hard drive MP3 players, they have gigabytes of storage capacity. If you would like to store many songs or CD collections in one, hard drive MP3 player or micro hard drive MP3 player is a better choice for you.